In recent years, a full five-day work leaves little room for anything else. The two-day weekend feels more like a 30-minute lunch break – it’s impossible to get anything done.
By the time you’re finished work on a Friday evening, you’ve got little energy for anything else other than going home and streaming Netflix. But then Saturday and Sunday are gone in the blink of an eye and you’ve got nothing done of what you wanted to do. It’s weeks like that which make you wish three-day weekends were more popular.
However, for the residents of Belgium, labor laws are changing for the better. As part of an effort to raise the employment rate and make businesses more viable, the country has approved new labor law changes, including a new four-day workweek.
Pretty soon, the residents of Belgium will be able to enjoy a four-day workweek without taking a hit to their salary. The labor reforms also include a choice to turn off their work devices after hours, as well as ignore all work-related correspondences after hours without worrying about the repercussions.
Alexander De Croo, the prime minister of Belgium, expressed that the goal of the reform is to stimulate a more productive and changing economy.
According to EuroNews, De Croo explained, “We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger.”
Besides the three-day weekends, employees will have more leeway to request time off or changes to their work schedules. The Labor Minister, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, cited that these more flexible schedules would be beneficial to divorced or separated parents of young children.
According to EuroNews, Dermagne, added, “This would benefit those who wish to spend more time with their children.”
Belgium isn’t the only European country to come up with the idea for a four-day workweek. In Iceland, the four-day workweek was trialed between 2015 and 2019, and in that time it proved to be quite popular. According to The Guardian, it is 85% of the population’s choice working conditions.
What do you think of the four-day workweek? Would you like that brought to your country? Let us know!